1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mechanism and a method for locking a removable data carrier in a support structure of an electronic device.
2. Related Art
In modern car radio systems, car entertainment systems, navigation systems, and hands-free speaking systems for vehicles, there are slots for receiving memory cards or the like for providing, for example, music or videos for a car radio system or a car entertainment system, electronic maps for a car navigation system, subscriber identification information on a SIM (subscriber identity module) card for hands-free speaking systems, or a CA module (condition access module) for a car entertainment system for receiving protected audio or video sources. These data carriers, for example, memory cards, SIM cards, or CA modules, are usually inserted via a slot in the front plate of an electronic device provided in the vehicle, for example, a car radio system, a car navigation system, a car entertainment system, or a hands-free speaking system. These data carriers are very valuable due to the cost of the data carrier itself, be it a memory card with several GB capacities, or be it due to the content stored on the data carrier, especially in the case of a SIM card or a CA module.
As these data carriers are easily accessible and removable from the electronic device as they should be easily exchangeable by the user, these data carriers are also easily removable by an unauthorized person breaking into the vehicle and stealing the data carrier. Therefore, a need exists for a data carrier that can be locked into electronic devices and removable only by authorized persons.